In 2022, Global Water Futures arranged for Sam Baardman to spend two weeks at the Coldwater Laboratory in the Rockies as well as northern Saskatchewan to speak with scientists about their climate-related work. Sam traveled with GWF scientists to their observatories atop mountains, deep inside alpine forests, up on a glacier, and onto the northern
In 2022, Global Water Futures arranged for Sam Baardman to spend two weeks at the Coldwater Laboratory in the Rockies as well as northern Saskatchewan to speak with scientists about their climate-related work. Sam traveled with GWF scientists to their observatories atop mountains, deep inside alpine forests, up on a glacier, and onto the northern prairie.
The result of this science-art collaboration is Athabasca, a collection of environmental songs released on Earth Day, 2023. Environmentalism has been a theme in Sam’s music from his earliest days as a songwriter and this new album is a culmination of decades of ecological art-making. The songs are thoughtful, poetic, often biting commentary on the current crisis. There are celebratory songs about the beauty of nature, but also songs that speak to our bewilderment, hurt, and anger at the dilemma we find ourselves in.